Main menu

Category Archives: My Cadet

Post navigation

It’s been quite the last few months of highs and lows. As you know, if you read my last post (written over a month ago), my husband came home after 40 days of fighting fires. It was great coming home and seeing him there, with that mustache of his covering his upper lip again. Oh, how I missed him.

He came home on a Wednesday and went back to his usual schedule of Saturday-Monday, where he gets off Tuesday morning. That first evening back we planned on looking at cars, as we discussed a few months before that we needed to buy a new car for me. The Camry I had previously been using was getting up there in miles (220k+!) and the AC also happened to go out while Bub was gone. Long story short, we went to look at cars and ended up signing the papers to our new 2015 Subaru CrossTrek!

I love my car. So much. She’s so pretty.

Look at her! I love driving her around; she’s smooth, practical, sporty, and just so pretty. Haha.

Anyway, that following Saturday he got called away. Again. He was home for 10 days and 5 of those he was working at the station. This time he was gone for only 2.5 weeks, not 5.5. Ha, cake! 19 days are nothing compared to 40… So far this summer, he’s worked 5 fire and was gone for a total of approximately 68 days. In the span of about 78 days, he was gone for 68 of those. Yeesh.

For those who have followed me from last year and such, you’ll remember his epic Wyatt Earp status mustache. He got that growing again but shaved it off last week. Meh. I actually like it.

Since he’s been back, we’ve been able to see a few movies with friends, spend time with our families, and even go to the beach! We both got some nice tans, considering it’s October. But that doesn’t mean anything in California. Today was approximately 100 degrees. California doesn’t care that it’s “autumn.”

Note: I am wearing a bikini top; it’s strapless tho. So yeah. The waves were actually decent that day and I got tumbled around a bit while body surfing. I got a nice tennis ball size abrasion on the back of my hip to prove it. That sand is tough, man!

I also recently did a friend’s bridal makeup, as well as her MOH. It was fun for me and awkward for them because they’re the type of girls that really don’t wear makeup, which they don’t even need to as they’re naturally gorgeous anyway. But I loved doing their makeup and then having them tell me that I did better than the girls at Sephora… 😉

I wore a pretty new dress. I had my mom snap a picture of it to send to Bub because he couldn’t come as he was working.

I finished my RN training at work a few weeks ago and am now on my own! This also means I am now working in the desert, the same area where I did a lot of my nursing clinicals. My schedule is completely random and is now Tues-Sat. Some days I clock in at 0945, other days I’ll clock in at 0345. Ah, the life of a mobile RN… But I get to see beautiful sunrises again

#nofilter

School is also moving right along. I’m in my 4th class and with that, only 8 more to go!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

Life is crazy. Life is busy. But life is good.

My husband and I are slowly getting back into a schedule and rhythm again. The first week or so of him being home is always weird. A good weird, but weird nonetheless. I get used to doing certain things without him and he’s used to living out of a duffel bag. Then he comes home and we get to share a bed again, go grocery shopping, talk about bathroom rugs, and just do normal couple things. He can fix the toilet that’s been leaking and I get to do our piles of laundry, which include smokey blue pants and many sets of scrubs on my end.

Bub and I have been married just over a year now. He’s also been a firefighter for a few years now, starting out as a volunteer in which he did everything all the other paid FF’s did, but for free. He was was able to get extra training because of it. He eventually got into the federal forest service and is now part of a state department, broken down and managed by counties.

While we’re still new at the game called “marriage” and his career known as “firefighting,” we’re quickly learning how to balance our careers and every day life, with me being a full-time RN and back in school as well. It’s a crazy, busy life, but a good one.

I just like this picture 🙂

As you may know, or not know, in Bub’s line of working where he is managed through county and state, his job can take him away at any time and for weeks on end. I felt the need to write this because he’s been gone for 16 days now, with the possibility of maybe coming home in a few more and I got some stuff on my mind. Last year he was gone for 2 weeks, and he left not even a week after we got married. Then he was home for two more weeks, then was away for three more. It wasn’t the easiest but I managed with support. More on that in a little bit.

But I’m writing because whenever he’s at work for his regular 72 hour shift or gone like he is now, people say the darnedest things. I mentioned a few of the things in a previous post, but I’ll simply reiterate here, as well as offer a few suggestions for those of you that know other FF wives (or husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, fiances!), as well as newer wives like myself. We’re a special breed!

When Bub is away, either during his regular shift of 72 hours or time away like he currently is, I get some funny and interesting comments/questions. It’s kind of like a pregnant lady… People offer strange (sometimes unwanted) advice, tips, etc. or just ask weird questions.

Below I have a list of things that people say to me that might irk me. Enjoy. I’ll also add commentary for them and why they might bother me. And yes, these are the phrases that perhaps you can think about before saying, or least how you say it.

You must be so anxiousYes, I am, but I don’t let it take over my life. I can’t allow myself to feel so anxious that it disrupts me during work or every day life. I have to let it go to a point where I am able to function.

You must not sleep at night/You must be soo lonely in bed by yourselfYes, I am. But while this may be one of the hardest about him being gone, since I’ve gotten to used to him being there, I’ve found ways to help me sleep better at night. I’ve downloaded two meditation apps that I utilize and boy does it help.

You’re probably really lonely/Do you miss him a lot?Yes, of course I am lonely, and no, I am not lonely. I am lonely for him, but not without him. I have the awesome support of my family as well as his family, and course all of our friends. When he’s gone, I usually stay with my family; otherwise I stay at our place, which is on his parents property and I’m able to visit with them of course. I see my friends a lot, too. You can say I’m not a needy wife.

Aren’t you soo stressed out when he’s gone? Are you very worried?Yes, I get worried, especially when I see pictures of the fires he is at. But I can’t allow myself to freak out and become so afraid that it causes anxiety.

When is he coming home?I have no freaking clue. Seriously. And neither does he. A typical campaign can last up to 14 or 21 days and then they might get 2 days off. But when in a state of emergency, like we have been for a few weeks now, they might not get those 2 days. And they will continue their 24 on/24 off schedule. But I digress. During their campaigns, we never know when they’ll come home. They usually don’t even know until the night before or even the day of. And then again, it can always change…

Wow, what do you do when he’s gone?I sit at home by myself and twiddle my thumbs. All day long. Just kidding. I go to work, focus on work, come home, do my homework and write papers, and then I finish it off by spending time with my family and friends. Retail therapy is also a good idea 😉

You must never see each otherActually, we do. We manage to see each other on his days off and when I come home from work. Amazing! And when he’s away, we’re lucky to live in an age of technology and frequently send each other selfies. Sometimes we even get to FaceTime. And what time we do have together, we never take for granted and appreciate every moment together.

Oh, he’s at that fire? I heard it’s pretty bad and scary up there!Yes, thank you for the reminder.

Using terms such as single, lonely, lonely girl, and my favorite…widowI mentioned in my previous post about this but people openly will call me and other FF wives “single,” “lonely girl,” and a “widow.” I have heard all of these more than once. And it makes me sad, hurt, and mad. It downplays what a widow is and it also doesn’t take into account that we are very much married. We just happen to be separated by distance and sometimes lack of communication but not by our choice.

I can usually brush a lot of this off, as everyone that says it really doesn’t mean any harm by it. But when I hear it on a daily basis or when I just heard that he’s staying longer than expected, it is an unintentional hurt, but a hurt nonetheless.

And below are a list of things I tell myself, as well as what I do to help me feel better when it’s tough.

I am calm, because I have to be. For him and for me.

I am strong for the both of us, but especially for him.

I will not allow myself to feel anxious or upset.

I look at the positives in our relationship. I look forward to text messages from him that simply say, “Good morning beautiful, just finished 24 hours on the fire, I’m going to sleep now, miss you, love you”

I don’t expect him to call me every day, especially the days when he’s working 24 hours. And on his off days or when he’s at the station and I send him text messages, I don’t ever expect him to respond right away, if at all. I send him little updates of what I’m doing just so when he does check his phone, it might bring a smile to his face.

I put my focus into work and school, not on the fire that he’s fighting, although he is always in the back of my mind. I miss him every single second that he’s gone, but I know he’s working hard and I care more about if he’s eaten, had enough water, and had enough sleep, instead of him being with me. I check the status of the fire, but I don’t look at weather or the parts that might scare me. I’ll look at his personal photos when he’s back in the safety of our home.

I exert any negative energy into exercising, yoga, Netflix binges (hello, Friends!), and also meditating at night when I go to sleep. I found this helps me so much at night.

Reading positive books.

I recently bought myself and my hubby Qalo rings, which are silicone rings designed specifically for very active people i.e. firefighters, rock climbers, weight-lifters, etc. I got him an all black, as he is very simple. But I got myself the ring that is a representation for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundations and their Wives.

I still wear my wedding rings, but I wear this on my right hand.

I recently joined an online support group of firefighter wives from all over the country and it’s been so helpful and encouraging to be in a community of women who truly understand what it’s like. We’re similar to military wives, but we’re also different. We all miss our spouses, just for varying periods of time. I have so much respect for the spouses whose other half are in other countries for months on end. I’m lucky to see my husband after a few weeks.

I also use my “independence” for doing other things I might not normally do when he’s here. Shopping trips by myself, lazy evenings of reading or binge-watching YouTube, spending extra time with friends and family, and even eating food he may not like personally but I enjoy. Just because 😉 Mmm, garlic shrimp…

If you know someone whose spouse is a firefighter or first responder, asking things like, “how is he doing?” or “how are you doing?” is wonderful. Offering support, rather than questions, is so appreciated. Also, a lot of the time, when asked anything, the tone has a lot to it… When I’m asked these questions and you tilt your head and give me sad eyes, that’s when it hurts. I’m not alone, nor do I need sympathy. Just your support.

Thanks for reading everyone. I hope this makes sense and you understand where I am coming from.

July has been a good month. Busy, but good. So I’m gonna go ahead and share a few materialistic things I’ve been enjoying 😉 This is a beauty blog (mostly) after all! Haha. I’ll also throw in a few awesome moments, too.

It’s a wonderful peachy gold highlighter that is just, in a word, phenomenal. and dare I saw, on fleek?! Haha. If you follow Jaclyn Hill, then you’ll know that the phrase #highlightonfleek has become quite the trend. Normally I would never say anything is on fleek, but omg I love this highlighter. It’s just perfect.

2) NYX brow pomade and even better, their brow pencil.

These have both been compared to the Anastasia Beverly Hills products, and while I have never tried them, I really do love them. They have totally changed how I do my brows. Before I used the ELF brow product and while I liked it, I always felt like my brows were too… put on. But with these, and I only use one at a time, I feel like my brows are a bit more natural looking now. Love them!

3) My Kindle Paperwhite. Even though I’m working fulltime, in school again, and still have every other social activity that I had before, I’ve been reading more and it’s been so great. I think I’ve read 3 books in the last two weeks, the latest being All The Bright Places, which made me feel all the feelings when I finished. Ugh. I also read today that they’re making a film adaptation of it and I am so excited. Although scared because I will cry and I will need Bub there with me to hand me tissue.

4) My new grown up Kate Spade purse that I got as a treat to myself with my first nurse paycheck 🙂

I saw this purse style a year ago and have wanted it so much ever since. It’s the kind of purse I happily I use every day but can also wear it dressed up. I love it so much and am so happy I bought it. I also got it at an outlet so I scored big on the cost 😉 The style is Newbury Lane Small Loden, they have various colors and while I debated between this and a gray, I finally chose the black as I do not have a nice black purse and it’s just so classy looking.

It has three large pockets, as well as a shoulder strap.

Here’s a picture of the size comparison to me.

5) This is my favorite thing and also quite possibly my favorite moment of the year thus far.

For our one year anniversary on the 13th, my sweet hubby surprised me with a wonderful wedding band.

Sorry it’s so fuzzy.

It was sweet when he gave it to me, too. We were alone on our golf green with the lights on where we had our first dance and he very slyly put the ring on my finger without me even seeing it. But of course I felt it.

Before I was wearing a simple band with it and while it was nice, this band is just… awesome. It’s so pretty and just really fits so well with my engagement ring. I find myself staring at my ring again like I’m engaged all over again. I had told my hubs a few months before that I wanted a band and he at first he was like, eh… But then when he surprised me with this… Oh, I fell in love again.

So those are my five favorites of July.

In other news, my hubby is currently away in northern California fighting fires and saving California. He’s been away for a week now and could be gone for at least another week. This is his first campaign of the season and was so excited to finally get a call away.

So I know Bub and I are married now, which means we have a new anniversary to celebrate (less than 2 months away from the first!) but today, May 27, marks 10 years of us being a couple.

Circa 2010 (I think?? ha..)

We were a funny, young couple that celebrated monthly for the first year. Then of course after that we celebrated every year.

10 years is a long time; we’ve been together for more than a third of our lives. It hasn’t always been easy but it’s been worth every moment. We’ve grown from teenagers, to young adults, to the married adult couple that we are now. We’ve encouraged each other, supported each other, became a part of each others families. Our lives were separate but then slowly became meshed together. In a healthy way of course 🙂

2010

I supported him entirely while he was in fire academy. That’s actually when I started doing his laundry! haha.

2011

He was a wonderful support for me in nursing school, always making sure I had space to study and always brought me food.

2014

So from here, let’s just post a bunch of random photos of us… I don’t remember a lot of the years, so I may not post them. And sadly, I can’t seem to find many pictures from the first three years of us dating, back when he had long hair and I never wore makeup. and if I did, it was terrible. Ha.

And then, oh lucky me, I just found happened to find some good ol’ photos from us first dating.

Oh yes…

This ^^ was approximately a week before “officially” started dating. I invited him to the beach with my sister and then his sister came, too. Look how cute he is with his long hair…

Then three weeks after we became “official.” Look at that smile…

amazing how we went from that…

…to…

I love you sweetie, with all my heart.

Thank you for asking me to be your girlfriend on that late Friday night. I knew right away you were special and our relationship was special.

It’s been almost 2 weeks since I’ve last blogged. My last few posts have been more on life rather than beauty and that’s okay with me because this blog is supposed to consist of all things life, not just beauty.

I’ve been wanting to write and while I have a few ideas, I didn’t make myself write them because I’ve been focusing on a few more important things going on right now and am also trying to be more in the moment. My husband’s fire season starts next month and with that, he could go away at any time and be gone for weeks. So with that coming up, he and I have been wanting to do a big trip before his season starts. I’m also going to Hawaii next month for my cousin’s wedding, of which I am a bridesmaid. Unfortunately, my hubby can’t come because it’s the exact same time his season starts.

One thing that I love about my hubby is that he likes me to be involved in whatever he does. If I weren’t with him, I may never have gone rock climbing, hiked as much as I have in Yosemite, been to Alaska, explored various national parks, or fell in love with camping as much as I have. While I may not be as adventurous as he is, I’m thankful that he wants me right next to him on every adventure he goes on.

While I love my blog and what is has become in my life, right now I’m focusing on my personal life and am simply going to enjoy it without the guilt of “oh, I didn’t write a post today or this week…”.

I hope you understand. I promise to show pictures of our adventures, but for now, I can’t wait for it to begin.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Mammoth Lakes for his family’s annual trip and then on Sunday he and I are heading to Utah to explore the 5 main national parks. We’ll be traveling all week then will head back to Las Vegas to cheer his sister and her boyfriend for their Spartan race then come home Sunday. We’ll be camping out in our truck, which is fully prepped for traveling and sleeping in. He’s made it super cozy with the camper shell. I’ll have to show y’all sometime. It’s our own little camper.

Until next time Yosemite…

Walking along the river.

National Parks are the best.

Here are some links to previous posts that include our traveling adventures!

Sometimes I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, figuratively of course. But none the less, I’m put in a mood that is less then cheery. I can joke and laugh but then I’m still feeling moody. Today, for example, I’m just feeling kind of “meh” and it’s annoying me. I can’t snap out of it.

I’ve been having difficulty sleeping for a while now, but that’s also normal for me. I’ve simply come to terms that I’m just a bad sleeper. I also have an annoying contact lens and my glasses are at home. I’m also feeling hangry (hungry+angry). And my hair has been bugging me this week, almost to the point where I contemplated cutting some of it off. But I’m not. I know I’ll regret it. Like I always do. But you know what I mean about the hair, right? Ugh. Some days…

So can you tell I’m in an irritated mood?

A few things I might try to help myself feel better includes a) eat something, b) put on fun lipstick (currently wearing a fun coral pink now), c) list a few things that make me happy. I need positive vibes.

So let’s do it.

1) My husband. That’s a given though. But this week he’s been especially awesome. The other day he surprised me with a brand new backpacking pack. I’m so excited to use it and can’t wait to go on a trip. Even just thinking about it now makes me so happy.

That there is my new backpack. It’s a Gregory Deva 70, the 2015 model. I took a screen shot of it from the Gregory website because the picture I have makes it look sad since it’s empty. Haha.

And that is my handsome hubby all dressed up for his sister’s wedding. and of course me in my bridesmaid dress 😉 I loved getting my hair done that day. And we couldn’t help but sneak a few kisses during the wedding. Haha. We’re no longer the new newlywed’s in the family.

2) The beach. We spent two days at the beach this past weekend and it was marvelous. So relaxing. We also got some awesome tans.

This picture was last October but the scene was the same, even the bikini.

Bub and I have been celebrating Christmas together since 2005. That’s a long time. And this year marks our first Christmas as a married couple. It makes me feel warm and cozy inside.

We went to church today, the first in months for him, as he’s worked every Saturday since the end of May. On our way to lunch afterwards, I took a quick photo of us and promptly put it on my private Instagram account but will go ahead and show ya here.

He wore the suit pants, tie, and shoes he wore on our wedding day. I wore a dress that really belongs to my sister but I’ve kept for a few years now 😉

I like being married. Yes, we’ve only been married for just over 5 months now, so we’re certainly not pros or anything at this whole marriage thing. However, we have been together for nearly 10 years now and have practically been living together for over 2. But the fact that we’re married now, well, it’s just a whole different ball game. Not much has changed in our relationship, but at the same time, it has. Even our families treat us differently. I know marriage isn’t for everyone, but I’m most definitely glad he and I have taken this step and this ultimate level of commitment.

Like I’ve mentioned before, we live in a very small space. It being so small, we hardly have any room except for our basic necessities of bed, desk, dressers, standup wardrobe for me, and an entertainment center that also acts as a book shelf and storage area. That’s it. We still have a majority of our wedding presents (unopened) in a neat pile that you hardly notice 😉

With that being said, we knew we absolutely could not fit a decent Christmas tree in here. But we knew we wanted some sort of a tree. So we went to Home Depot last week and found a cut little thing, some cute mini ornaments, got a 2014 ornament, and threw on a strand of 20 mini lights…

In’nt it cute? It stands at about a mighty 2 feet and we plan to plant it in his parents field after Christmas. I love our little tree. It may be tiny and may not look like much (especially during the day), but it’s our first tree and I love it.

Christmas is in officially 2 weeks and 1 day! And I am nowhere near ready. Haha. Although Bub and I did get our first stockings for our little place. I’ll show them once our place is a bit more festive and ready to see.

One reason we have yet to get ready and actually start shopping is my honey and his twin sister recently just celebrated their 28th birthday! I can’t believe he’s 28 already! It’s hard to imagine because when we started dating, he was 18 and I was 16. Yikes!

We were lucky to go to Disneyland on their birthday as his twin has an annual pass and her boyfriend does as well. We ate dinner at the famous Blue Bayou (which was delicious), did some swing dancing, saw fireworks, and hit up a bunch of the rides.

The day before their birthday, we actually spent some time at the Disneyland hotel and pool as his family was spending time there. The weather was cloudy but still warm!

Now that we’re all Disney-ed out and celebrated their birthday’s, I am ready to get this holiday season going!

First things first… at-home manicure!

This lovely color is OPI in Under The Mistletoe 🙂 It’s wonderfully sparkly and festive.

Have you all started getting ready for Christmas? I feel like I’m lagging (which I am…)!

Watching my cousin Sean surf. Even on a small day he makes the waves look fun and he always has a good time anyway. We’ve picked up on some phrases thanks to him over the last few years, my favorite being “sketch, I’m down.”

I got to enjoy the sunshine. I worked out pretty hard the day before and while my entire body was sore, I ran a mile on the beach as I am determined to keep up my workouts and running! And since the water is still warm enough, I was able to swim for a few minutes to cool off after my run.

Hubs accidentally locked our key in the truck. Luckily, I insisted on leaving the two front windows cracked a little bit to allow air flow and so Bub was able to borrow a hanger from a friendly surfer and eventually pull on the trunk latch to open it. You can see Sean laughing at Bub’s attempts to hit the unlock button, which did not work for whatever reason. But he got the trunk open and retrieved the key!

Later that afternoon my parents and brother joined us. A few of us pitched in and bought my dad a new surfboard, which he was able to surf for the first time yesterday. In the above photo, my mom is pointing out our dad while my bro watches on. Sunset was something else that evening.

Sky’s on fire!

It was glorious and makes you happy to know you live this life to see such beauty.

My dad and bro walking back. I love that it’s out of focus, for whatever reason. It makes it seem like the motion of them walking and the waves moving is really there in the picture.

And currently, this is my view. We woke up to clouds and cool weather, finally. The sun is coming out right now but there is rain in the forecast for the weekend.

I’m drinking a chai latte. It’s yummy.

Well, time to go switch the laundry and figure out what to do from here! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a safe Halloween if you participate! Bub is feeling under the weather so we’ll be taking it easy today.

The last three weeks, hubs and I have been going down to the beach so he can surf for an afternoon. It’s where he is able to recharge and reset. We have various places we like to go to, but one of our most favorite is the Encinitas area. He’s able to surf all afternoon while I take advantage of the especially warm weather we’ve been having while I hangout on the beach. And since I don’t have to worry about tan lines anymore, I’ve taken advantage of all the bikini sales. Haha.

The only tan lines that I care about are the ones on my face thanks to my sunglasses. I’ve slowly developed tan lines on mah face… Oh well.

Hubs took an extra day off this week for a friend’s wedding so we were able to spend the evening/night with my brother who lives in the SD area. My brother took us to a lookout point where we could watch this beautiful sunset. The waves were peeling beautifully and the weather was still so nice.

My favorite silhouette.

He actually took a candid picture of me without me knowing!

Now, to be honest, I partly wanted to do this post to show this new top. Haha. I love it. It’s so different than anything I’ve worn because it’s so…revealing. And it’s just my back. But I think the back is actually a beautiful feature. From the front it looks like a regular tank top but then you see the back… and oh, hello.

I wore a new (and now favorite) bra with it. It’s the Victoria Secret’s Pink Rose Lace bralette. I own it in black, seen above, and a light blue. So pretty. And soooo comfy. I want all of the colors!

This was the sunrise the following morning. We left early so Bub could surf with a former coworker he hasn’t seen in months. While they surfed I actually ran a mile or so on the beach, barefooted. My calves are thanking me today, especially when I ran two miles on asphalt. Haha.

Post navigation

Hi There!

Tidbits include but are not limited to --all things beauty related, life as a nurse & fire wife, travel, & any random thought (or two) that I feel the sudden need to share with the world. Thanks for stopping by! xo, Briana

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.